That pretty much describes the concert by shock-rockers Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper at Reading’s Sovereign Center on Tuesday.

Marilyn Manson at Sovereign Center in ReadingPhotos by Chris Shipley/Special to The Morning Call

With booming pyrotechnics and ear-piercing screams from both, the show let fans experience a unity of two rock gods performing the ultimate rock opera.

Manson (real name Brian Warner), opened the show. He entered the stage -- adorned with oversized occult-related double crossed symbols -- in full-on rock garb, telling the crowd that "Reading is fundamental," a joking take on the common mispronunciation of the city’s name.

As he serenaded the crowd with such hits as "The Dope Show"and "Rock is Dead," Manson, 44, appeared almost reptilian as he crawled along the stage floor, but his strong and powerful voice wooed the audience as much as his intense theatrical demeanor.

Lead guitarist Twiggy Ramirez performed a brief yet wickedly dynamic guitar solo around the same time.

Manson’s set included numerous quick set changes, with the stage turning black and the lights slowly coming back on.

One revealed a humongous American flag as a backdrop, with a recorded track of infamous speeches by presidents and other American leaders. Manson the appeared, holding a bunch of red, white and blue balloons that he set free as the band kicked into a Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus."

Another set change revealed an oversized wooden chair in center stage with Marilyn sitting on top of it to belt out another wild hit, "mOBSCENE." Another quick change had Manson performing Eurythmics’ "Sweet Dreams." Standing almost 10 feet tall on stilts on an eerily smoky set, Marilyn showed off his vocal range, bringing the crows to its feet.

Then the band disappeared briefly as Manson appeared behind a podium as a anti-government leader on a set covered with the band's well known Antichrist symbols for the final two songs: "Anti-Christ Superstar" and encore "The Beautiful People," as white confetti swirls around the arena like a blizzard.

Alice Cooper

Cooper and his band literally started its set with a bang: flaming pyrotechnics in full effect, Cooper entering a stage that looked like some sort of underground dwelling, in a bold red-and-black-striped suit.

Even at 65, Cooper sounded vocally as good now as he did 40-some years ago, but sometimes was slightly overpowered by his much-younger back up band.

But the crowd was enthralled by his wild antics on classic hits "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and spraying the fans with money during "Billion Dollar Babies."

Cooper took a break to showcase his band members. Drummer Glen Sobel pounded his kit for nearly five minutes, sounding like a booming fireworks display with bassist Chuck Garric backing him up. Aussie guitarist (and solo artist) Orianthi, who had the hit “According to You" and was to have been Michael Jackson's lead guitarist on his final "This Is It" tour, also took a solo.

Cooper reappeared in an oversize top hat, resembling the Mad Hatter, to preform "Welcome to My Nightmare" and "Go to Hell" as red lights illuminate the stage. Lights then changing to bright green for "Feed My Frankenstein."

Cooper, wearing a bright white lab coat covered in blood, was forced into an electric chair and transformed into a 20-feet-tall Frankenstein replica of himself.

Another wardrobe change found Cooper in a straight jacket to preform the very dramatic "The Ballad of Dwight Fry." The song ended with Cooper having his “chopped off” in a guillotine as the crowd roared.

The final two songs of the night brought oversized brightly colored balls and confetti shooting into the crowd as Cooper performed the crowd favorite, "School's Out." The audience sang along, incorporating Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall Part II."

Cooper and Manson closed the show by together performing an encore of Cooper’s "I'm Eighteen."

JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.